Apothecary Museum in old town Alexandria celebrates Harry Potter July 31st

On Thursday, July 31st, the Apothecary Museum located in Old Town Alexandria will celebrate Harry Potter’s birthday. The museum will be holding special tours from 5-9 p.m. Visitors will be enchanted by the real-world uses of Mandrake root, Dragon’s Blood, Unicorn root, and countless other plant concoctions as they make their way through the museum. But don’t worry; there are no screaming plants on this tour!

Cost for the Museum tour is $6 per person; advance purchase for a timed ticket is recommended through the online store: shop.alexandriava.gov. Tickets go on sale July 1. Although the event is for all ages, adult groups are recommended to come to the latter half of the program. While in Alexandria, enjoy free Harry Potter trivia just outside the Museum led by local bookstore Hooray for Books and stop by The Christmas Attic/The Urban Attic, located at 125 S. Union Street and The Tea and Spice Exchange, located at 320 King Street, between 5 and 9 p.m., for more Harry Potter fun!

The Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum in Old Town Alexandria is noted for its outstanding collection of medicinal herbs, shop furnishings, apothecary bottles and equipment, many still in their original location. It also has a spectacular collection of archival materials, including journals, letters and diaries, prescription and formula books, ledgers, orders and invoices. The names of famous customers appear in the documents, including Martha Washington, Nelly Custis, and Robert E. Lee.

For more information, please visit The Apothecary Museum located at 105-107 South Fairfax Street in Old Town Alexandria, call 703.746.3852, or visit the museum website.

Share this article

Barbara Maxwell was born in Madison, Wisconsin and spent several years during her childhood living overseas in several countries in Latin America. Before she was 14 years old, she was fluent in four languages. She attended the University of Minnesota where she received her Master’s in Library Science. Maxwell is a career librarian and corporate executive with over 27 years of experience working in the media and for three state governors. She ran the library and research department at USA TODAY for over 13 years. While there, she also served as the copyright officer and was involved in content resale. Maxwell has written numerous articles in professional journals, spoken at national conferences in the field of media librarianship, and has been writing poetry for over three decades. Her works are published in a book titled Butterflies and other fanciful thoughts. Maxwell also holds a copyright for a project and grant written for libraries. She most currently worked for a nonprofit in the Washington D.C. area where she also managed a former NFL player and celebrity. She also writes part time for Examiner.com. During the past year she has traveled to Africa twice and to Dubai. Maxwell currently resides with her two cats, Dorothy and Phoebe in the Seattle area.